Minnesota sets monthly record for E85 sales

by Mike Magda (RSS feed) on Aug 26th 2006 at 8:51AM

About one-third of the nation's 925 E85 refueling pumps can be found in Minnesota, so it's no surprise that the Gopher State leads the country in ethanol sales. The state's Dept. of Commerce says the state's 288 stations set a record in July by pumping 2.1 million gallons of E85 fuel to consumers.

The July mark nearly tripled last July's sales and equals all the E85 sold in the state in 2003. Throughout Minnesota, E85 costs an average 41 cents per gallon less than regular gasoline.

Officials quoted in a Minneapolis Star-Tribune story credit promotions such as GM's "Live Green, Go Yellow" campaign and the $1,000 E85 fuel-card incentive to buyers of flex-fuel vehicles. GM says flex-fuel vehicle sales in Minnesota were up 125% during the promotion. As the story mentions, though, just because the vehicle takes E85 doesn't mean the owner is filling up at an ethanol station. Apparently the decision is driven more by convenience than eco-awareness.

[Source: StarTribune.com]

Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel

Tags: minnesota e85, MinnesotaE85

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Howard Lee Harkness 10:10AM (8/26/2006)

Why am I not surprised that the home of the DFL has massive subsidies for ethanol? The price at the pump may be lower (almost enough lower to offset the decrease in fuel mileage), but the actual cost is hidden behind subsidies.

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Prattacus 10:56AM (8/26/2006)

W/R/T to gasoline, $3/gallon is a subsidy when compared to what it should be - $6/gal, like in Europe. That's all over the country. That's GOP.

DFL isn't the only political group giving hand-outs.

Also, Harland, how is it you know it "almost" offsets the difference in caloric value between fossil and ethanol? Are you using funny math? Ethanol has less caloric value, so you have to burn more. It's a little cheaper here to offset that. But "almost"? That sounds like a cheap shot with no real foundation in science or math.

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